Over the past decade, 11 states have changed their laws to ensure that most children under the age of 18 fall under the protections of the juvenile courts. This reform initiative, referred to as “raise the age” has returned 100,000 children every year back to juvenile court instead of facing prosecution in the adult criminal justice system. The Sentencing Project’s new report, Bringing More Teens Home: Raising the Age Without Expanding Secure Confinement in the Youth Justice System, highlights how states have succeeded in returning 16 and 17 year olds to juvenile court with a very minimal, often temporary, increase in the use of secure facilities. Four states have closed, or are in the process of closing, additional secure facilities after raising the age. The report finds that states have accomplished absorbing most 16 and 17 year-olds back into the juvenile justice system by investing in diversion, community-based services and therapeutic interventions, and alternatives to incarceration. With the promise of these efforts, however, comes increased concerns that white youth have benefited disproportionately from these community-based programs, while Black, Latinx, and Native youth continue to be incarcerated at much higher rates for the same behaviors. The Sentencing Project and its partners are committed to ensuring reforms prioritize protecting youth of color from the extremes of both the adult and youth justice systems. |
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